Cuckold

"Cuckold" was a Third Rate frigate captained by pirate John Nelly in the mid-1600s. Named after Nelly's misfortune of having an adulterous wife, the frigate was routed by the Spanish Heavy First Rate "San Genaro" off Cuba and was captured.

History
"Cuckold" was built under the name "Santa Isabel" by the Kingdom of Spain in Dunkirk, Flanders, in 1647. That year, privateer John Nelly captured the ship after a raid on Dunkirk, using Cuckold's cannon to raze the city and temporarily end Spanish privateering attacks. The ship was renamed "Cuckold", as Nelly had an adulterous wife and wanted to express his personality as a bulwark against Spain.

The frigate plundered Spanish ships in the Caribbean, capturing the Governor of Campeche in 1655 in a raid on New Spain (present-day Mexico). She was heavily-armed, and took down many smaller merchant ships, adding crew members and loot to her armory. Based on Cat Island, "Cuckold" seemed to be the invincible ship.

But in 1668, Spanish captain Miguel Maldonado and the Heavy First Rate "San Genaro" attacked the frigate off the south coast of Cuba, and Nelly prepared for his final battle. "Cuckold" fired regular shot at the front of "San Genaro" and attempted to slow her down even more with chain shot. "San Genaro" was too strong, returning fire with impunity. "Cuckold" fired grapeshot in a vain attempt to kill the crew, but in the end "Cuckold" was forced to flee when she suffered extremely heavy damage.

Nelly made it not too far before "Cuckold" succumbed to her damage. She took in lots of water near Cabo de Cruz and Nelly sought passage aboard a Spanish merchant schooner. He was taken to Havana, where he was charged with escaping the gallows in Mexico and with many counts of piracy, and he was hanged. "Cuckold", damaged, was scuttled.